Philadelphia has opted to reinstate the school district's face mask requirements that will mandate students and staff to wear facial coverings starting on Monday, a decision that was made amid a rising number of COVID-19 cases.
The superintendent of the Philadelphia School District, William R. Hite Jr, on Friday announced that "all school district students and staff will be required to wear their masks during the school and work day and while riding on school buses and vans" until further notice.
Philadelphia Mask Mandates
Hite Jr. emphasized that the district was remaining flexible to adjust to new threats from the coronavirus infection. In a statement, he noted that with what the country has learned since the beginning of the health crisis, the coronavirus continues to evolve and so too will the response to it.
The announcement comes as last month, Philadelphia became the first major city in the United States to reinstate an indoor mask mandate. The decision was made in response to rising coronavirus cases, only to have its health department decide four days later to lift the order amid improving conditions, as per the New York Times.
The reinstatement of the mask order would seem to come in line with federal recommendations. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, warned last week that a third of Americans live in areas where the threat of COVID-19 is so high that they should consider wearing a mask in indoor public settings.
The health professional cited the spread of the virus and the rise in hospitalizations across the country as the reasons for her recommendations. The United States is averaging more than 100,000 known cases of COVID-19 per day for the first time since February.
According to Fox News, the announcement noted that the decision was made to help protect everyone's health and well-being as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rise in the region. The decision also comes as Philadelphia County has experienced a 42% increase in coronavirus cases compared to the average two weeks ago.
Rising COVID-19 Threat
The situation also comes as United States President Joe Biden's administration is planning for an anticipated wave of COVID-19 infections this fall and winter. Officials are preparing to ensure both a new generation of vaccines and access to treatment and testing were readily available.
However, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha emphasized on Sunday that the plan depends on congressional funding. On the other hand, COVID-19 cases are rising in nearly every state and not just Philadelphia, 6ABC reported.
The most recent numbers in Philadelphia recorded an average of 434 new cases per day and 209 new hospitalizations per day, which is a 29% increase from two weeks prior. On the other hand, other cities are taking a wait-and-see approach.
In New York City, face masks have become optional in public schools since March and Mayor Eric Adams said last week that in spite of the city entering the high alert level for the coronavirus, there were no plans to bring back any mask mandates for now.
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